Marley and Me

Tuesday was a date night for Cindy and I. We take turns planning them and it was my turn. I was in the mood for a little light-hearted comedy (especially one with animals) so I thought Marley and Me would fit the bill. It started out very funny; especially for those who have experienced owning a dog firsthand. Then about halfway through, I’m convinced that some other director took over because it did a complete 180. Don’t’ read this if you plan on seeing this movie but first, Jennifer Aniston has a miscarriage, then she has to quit her job and then her and Owen Wilson start to fight constantly and he starts going through a mid-life crisis while she is going through hell at home and they are on the verge of splitting. Then it starts to get depressing. Marley starts to get old and at one point twists his stomach and goes out into the rainy night to die. Owen Wilson manages to find him but the veterinarian says he probably won’t even live through the night.

At this point I have developed a lump in my throat that lasts pretty much the rest of the movie. Marley lives through his condition and we have to watch his health deteriorate more and more until finally he has to be euthanized. And we have to watch every gruesome detail of it with the goodbye speech and the needle and the eyes slowly closing for the last time… I’m pretty sure this was the saddest movie I’ve ever seen in my life! I was depressed pretty much the rest of the night.

The next night, I watch Million Dollar Baby, which many consider to be one of the saddest movies ever. It was a very good movie but really didn’t make me that sad at all. It really got me thinking. Isn’t this completely illogical? Here we have a woman in the prime of her life who is seconds away from fulfilling her dream of winning a championship boxing title having a horrible accident and becoming completely paralyzed. Then, all she wants to do is die so she asks her coach to kill her and keeps trying to bite on her tongue and commit suicide until he finally gives in and EUTHANIZES her with what looks like the same needle that is used on the dog. This is a much more tragic story than a dog that has a very happy life and then is put down peacefully in old age is it not?
What is it about animals? You can watch 1,000 people get tortured or shot or stabbed or blown up and it doesn’t even faze you, but watch 1 animal go through the same thing and you are traumatized. Is that not incredibly strange to anyone? I would almost think of myself as a bad person except that everyone I’ve asked has felt the same way. Poor Marley…